Water Polo 4×4 has arrived, bringing a faster and more compact version of the sport with smaller teams, shorter games and several major rule changes.
The format is designed to create more attacking play, quicker transitions and fewer stoppages, with the first World Aquatics Water Polo 4×4 Open Championships taking place in Dubrovnik.
For anyone watching the format for the first time, here is a simple guide to how it works. Read more about 4×4 Water Polo here
How many players are there?
Teams can name a roster of eight players.
Only four are in the water at one time — three field players and one goalkeeper — with the remaining players available as substitutes.
Substitutions can be made during play through the designated substitution area, helping teams keep the pace of the game high.
How big is the pitch?
The official World Aquatics 4×4 rules specify a playing area between 15 and 16 metres long and 10 metres wide, with a minimum depth of two metres.
For the World Aquatics event in Dubrovnik, however, the competition field is 15 metres long and 12 metres wide.
The goals are also smaller than in traditional water polo, measuring 2.5 metres wide and 0.8 metres high.
How long is a game?
A match is divided into four five-minute sets.
However, unlike normal water polo, the sets are treated almost like individual mini-games.
The team that scores the most goals during a set wins that set, and the first team to win three sets wins the match.
That means a match can finish 3-0, 3-1 or 3-2.
If one team wins the opening three sets, the match ends immediately.
What happens if a set is tied?
There are no drawn sets.
If the score is level after five minutes, the game goes into Golden Goal.
The teams restart from their own goal lines and the next team to score wins the set.
If the overall match reaches 2-2 after four sets, the winner is decided by a penalty shootout.
Each team initially takes three penalties before sudden death is used if the scores remain level.
How long is the shot clock?
Teams have only 20 seconds to attack.
That is one of the biggest reasons the format is so fast, with teams encouraged to attack quickly instead of spending long periods setting up possession.
Can a goal be worth two?
Yes.
A normal goal counts as one, but a player who scores from inside their own defensive half earns two goals for their team.
It means long-range shots can completely change a set in a matter of seconds.
How do exclusions work?
Exclusions are very different from traditional water polo.
When a player is excluded, they swim to the designated touching corner, touch it and can then immediately return to the game.
There is therefore no traditional 20-second extra-player period.
Players can still foul out of the game, however. A player who reaches four personal fouls is excluded for the remainder of the match.
There is also a team foul system. Every fourth personal foul committed by a team during a set gives the opposition a bonus penalty throw, before the team foul count resets.
What happens after a goal?
Play restarts quickly.
After conceding, the goalkeeper puts the ball back into play from the two-metre line.
The players of the team restarting must initially be inside their own half before play continues.
There are also no traditional corner throws. If the ball crosses the goal line without entering the goal, the game restarts with a goal throw.
How many timeouts are there?
Each team has one one-minute timeout during the match.
Games are also officiated by one referee alongside the table officials.
4×4 in the simplest possible terms
Eight players in the squad.
Four players in the water.
Five-minute sets.
Twenty-second attacks.
First team to three sets wins.
Tie a set and it goes to Golden Goal.
Reach 2-2 in sets and the match goes to penalties.
Score from your own half and it counts for two.
Get excluded, touch the corner and come straight back.
Reach four personal fouls and your game is over.
The result is a version of water polo built around speed, shooting and constant transitions — with considerably less time to slow the game down.
Read more about 4×4 Water Polo
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